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Saison

Chef Joshua Skenes and his business partner, sommelier Mark Bright, launched Saison three years ago as a Sundays-only pop-up before expanding operations to three and then five days a week.

It eventually became permanent and garnered two Michelin stars. In 2013, Skenes moved the restaurant into the 1888 California Electric building, a historic brick structure a block from AT&T Park. At Saison, the most important kitchen tool is the oldest of all: fire. Skenes calls it “the heart of the restaurant.” Nearly every dish at Saison contains something that was smoked, grilled, or roasted by a wood fire. Food & Wine magazine named Skenes one of America’s best new chefs.

Skenes came to Noise 13 to rebrand the restaurant’s visual identity, create a logo to represent the importance of fire in their dishes, and design a new website. After several months of collaboration and explorations gourmands, we finally released a very simple, almost ethereal visual identity that hopefully enhances the grace of Skenes’s cuisine.

I like it, too. The biggest surprise for me are the colors which I didn’t expect and don’t find to be prominent in the presented materials. What are the roles of Trade Gothic and Helvetica Light, respectively, as they have similar appearance.

I agree, having both trade gothic and helvetica light seems a bit redundant. I really want to see a serif font to contrast the simplicity of the flame. The colour palette does not seem very exciting or appetizing either. I love the colours in the first kitchen picture. After that the rest seem off. Blue is often said to kill your appetite.

Love that logo-type, feels appropriate for a starred restaurant, the i lends it a little distinction and the serifs perceived quality.

The icon however is a bizarre choice. Its rendering is generic, suggests grilling rather than spice. For me it cheapens the logotype and doesn’t really seem particularly sophisticated in either its aesthetic or communicative value, even as an emboss across leather. I’m almost certain that there could be a number of different ways to communicate this particular value through language, image, material or print finish rather than iconographically.

I do appreciate that there is history in the building but the wax seal and letterpress print finishes – now it seems the default for those with the budget who want to convey heritage / quality / craft – are neither suited to a contemporary eatery or specific enough to reflect the character / history of the location.

Saying all that, the logotype, absent the flame, across full screen photography on-line is lovely.